Ohio House Panel Amends Marijuana Bill With Changes To Tax Revenue, Licensing And Equity Provisions

An Ohio House committee on Wednesday took up a bill that would make sweeping changes to the state’s voter-approved cannabis law—by creating new criminal penalties, eliminating equity programs and putting limits on legal products.

Lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee did vote on the underlying measure—HB 160, from Rep. Brian Stewart (R)—saying they expect to move forward slowly and carefully, though they spent close to 40 minutes discussing the proposal and adopted a six-page amendment.

Asked by the panel whether he wanted the bill to be fast-tracked or whether there would be more time to dig into details, Stewart said he didn’t expect lawmakers to rush.

“This is something we would like to have passed by June,” he replied, “not within the next couple of weeks.”

A number of other panel members said they had pages’ worth of questions about the bill and still want more clarity.

HB 160 is one of several pieces of legislation so far that could make major changes to Ohio’s marijuana legalization law, passed by voters in 2023. Reform advocates, for their part, have said the efforts represent an attempt to undermine the will of voters.

Another bill, seen as even more restrictive, is SB 56, from Sen. Steve Huffman (R). The Senate passed that measure in February on a 23–9 vote. A separate budget measure from Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is also a potential vehicle for changes. As proposed, it would remove local tax allocations of medical marijuana revenue and double the state cannabis tax rate to 20 percent—though legislative leaders have said they will be removing the tax increases.

The House bill would make a variety of changes to state cannabis law around legal products and activities, creating a host of new criminal charges. It would also delete voter-approved social equity provisions and adjust how business licenses are awarded.

Sponsor Stewart said at the hearing that the proposal “adds more specific guidelines for the sale of marijuana and similar substances, while maintaining the overall will of the voters, who voted yes to legalize adult use marijuana in Ohio.”

He acknowledged that a lot of the provisions in his bill “are taken from the bills that are passed in the Senate.”

“I think it’s more just legislative reality of, you know, if we’re going to get a bill through both chambers, we need to incorporate some of what both chambers have wanted to see,” he said of the proposals moving forward, “even if those may not be things that necessarily animate me personally.”



While the House bill would in general take a more restrictive approach to legalization than the voter-approved law, it also includes a few provisions that cannabis reform supporters might find welcome.

For example, it would establish a program allowing individuals to request the expungement of criminal records for past marijuana possession cases—a request that would cost applicants $50. It would also remove a prohibition on marijuana retailers providing products samples to customers.

Lawmakers at Wednesday’s hearing adopted an amendment that would further remove the law’s existing equity provisions and clarify how marijuana tax revenue would be allotted to municipalities.

One new change, for example, eliminates a current provision mandating that 15 percent of each type of business licenses go to people from economically disadvantaged groups.

Another clarifies how business licenses would be awarded through a lottery system in the event that applications exceed available licenses, with better qualified applicants having higher chances of winning the lottery.

The amendment also diverts a portion of expungement fees from the state treasury to the attorney general’s office, and it adjusts how a portion marijuana tax revenue would flow to local governments. Specifically, only cities or townships that have at least one licensed dispensary would be eligible for financial distributions.

Prior to the amendment, any locality that had not banned or limited marijuana retailers was eligible to receive a portion of funds.

Among other provisions in HB 160 itself, the bill would limit THC in cannabis products to 70 percent and prevent state regulators from adjusting or eliminating THC limits. Regulators also could not approve any new forms of adult-use marijuana under the bill.

It would further cap the number of active dispensaries statewide at 350.

The measure would outlaw the use and possession of cannabis not purchased from a licensed retailer or grown at home in accordance with state law. And it would prohibit the sharing of homegrown cannabis as well as cultivation on behalf of another person.

Advocates have said the restrictions could put consumers at risk if they don’t have receipts, original packaging or other ways to prove that they obtained their marijuana legally—or if they simply hand a joint to another adult friend at home.

Unlike the competing Senate bill, however, HB 160 would not reduce the existing 12-plant limit for home cultivation. SB 56, by contrast, would reduce that limit to six plants.

Drivers would also need to keep cannabis and paraphernalia in a part of a vehicle not accessible to the driver under the House bill. such as in the trunk or behind a back row of seats.

The measure would repeal the Cannabis Social Equity and Jobs Program, meant to support license applicants who have been adversely impacted by marijuana prohibition. Under current law, that program is supposed to receive 36 percent of state cannabis tax revenue.

An existing legal provision putting 25 percent of revenue toward substance use disorder and mental health programs, including a hotline, would also be deleted under the bill.

Local government funding would be retained, but through a temporary five-year program that would disburse 20 percent of cannabis tax revenue.

The allocation changes in the bill in general re-route marijuana taxes to the state’s general fund.

Beyond adult-use cannabis, the bill also restricts the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived products to marijuana dispensaries, barring sales in places like gas stations and convenience stores. (A separate Senate bill would impose a similar restriction.)

Efforts to reduce funding for municipal governments have drawn pushback and concern from local officials.

A recent survey of 38 municipalities across the state found that localities are “unequivocally opposed” to the proposed changes to tax revenue allocation.

“When it came to how municipalities planned to spend expected marijuana tax revenue, they typically spoke of prioritizing law enforcement, fire, infrastructure maintenance, and parks,” the report said. “They indicated that this revenue would be critical to their ability to maintain public safety and improve the lives of their residents.”

“Similarly, others expressed that they may not want to continue to have recreational sales in their area if the revenue was eliminated,” it added, “or that the revenue was part of the original motivation for wanting dispensaries.”

Meanwhile, DeWine late last month announced his desire to reallocate marijuana tax revenue to support police training, local jails and behavioral health services. He said funding police training was a top priority, even if that wasn’t included in what voters passed in 2023.

“First of all, we respect the voters. With a pretty big margin, they said that marijuana should be legal in the state of Ohio,” he said. But he added a word of “caution” to parents that THC potency is “much higher” in today’s products, which he called a “big issue.”

Earlier this month, Ohio’s Senate president pushed back against criticism of the Senate bill, claiming that the legislation does not disrespect the will of the electorate and would have little impact on products available in stores.

Separately in the legislature this month, Huffman and Sen. Shane Wilkin (R) introduced legislation that would impose a 15 percent tax on intoxicating hemp products and limit their sales to adult-use dispensaries—not convenience stores, smoke shops or gas stations

DeWine has repeatedly asked lawmakers to regulate or ban intoxicating hemp products such as delta-8 THC.

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.

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